


On Cheetos

by beeche241



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-08
Updated: 2020-07-08
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:14:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25138279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beeche241/pseuds/beeche241
Summary: '“Why do you even like Cheetos so much anyway?”“Because they taste good.”Emily laughed. “No, they don’t.”'-Domestic Jemily one-shot where Emily finds out why JJ loves Cheetos.
Relationships: Jennifer "JJ" Jareau/Emily Prentiss
Comments: 5
Kudos: 142





	On Cheetos

JJ smiled from the couch as she heard the distinct sound of Emily walking down the stairs. While Henry and Michael’s light footsteps scampered quickly down and often jumped the last few steps, Emily’s footfalls were more elegant and always preceded a kiss on top of the blonde’s head.

“Need anything else from the store?” Emily asked, scanning the list on the fridge.

JJ hummed, then replied without looking up from her book, “Cheetos.”

Emily laughed, and JJ looked up, confused.

“Wait, you’re serious?” Emily said. “You finished the 40-pack already?”

JJ scoffed. “Those bags are too small, 40 is nothing.”

“Jayje, you finished them in like two weeks. And you wouldn’t even let the boys touch them.”

JJ pouted, her eyes growing big, knowing Emily would not be able to resist.

“Oh, that’s just cheating,” Emily mumbled, looking away from JJ’s soft, blue eyes. “I’ll get your damn Cheetos. Stop staring at me like that.”

“Thank you,” JJ replied sweetly, her face instantly transforming into a bright and contagious smile.

“Your eyes are reason to believe that I’m trapped in a manipulative relationship, Jennifer Jareau,” Emily sighed, putting on her jacket.

“Trapped, huh?” JJ quoted, grabbing Emily’s arm as she passed and pulling her onto the couch for a kiss.

“Yes. Completely and utterly trapped,” Emily smiled, feeling herself melt. “Why do you even like Cheetos so much anyway?”

“Because they taste good.”

Emily laughed. “No, they don’t.”

JJ looked down with a small smile.

“What?” Emily tilted her head.

“Hmm?” JJ glanced back up at Emily.

“You got a look.”

JJ looked away and laughed slightly. “It’s stupid.”

But Emily’s gentle gaze showed she was there to listen anyway.

JJ opened her mouth and paused before speaking. “When Roslyn and I were younger, before…before everything happened, we used to walk home from school together. I would wait out front, and she’d swing by my school every day to pick me up.”

JJ pulled her legs close to her body and hugged one knee. Her hands fidgeted, a habit she had developed when talking about her sister after the case in East Allegheny had ruined the sentimental value of the necklace she used to toy with.

“There was this vending machine just outside a local mall on the way home. I think there was something wrong with one of the coils. But we discovered that every so often the row with Cheetos would dispense two bags instead of one. None of the other chips did it, just the Cheetos.”

A small smile grew on JJ’s face as she kept talking. “It wasn’t that big of a deal, and it didn’t even happen every time. But a few times a week after school, we’d go and buy Cheetos just to see, and if it happened, Ros acted like it was this huge thing to celebrate. If there were two bags, we each got one, but if there was only one, she always gave it to me.”

JJ paused, and Emily reached out to take her hand.

“I barely even noticed when we stopped going as often, when it just seemed like Ros wanted to get home as quickly as possible after school.”

JJ’s eyebrows furrowed, as though frustrated with herself for not realizing sooner.

“A few weeks after she…” JJ took a shuddering breath and stopped.

“It’s okay,” Emily whispered.

But JJ shook her head, determined to say the words she dreaded. Not to speak them was to live in fear of them.

“A few weeks after she killed herself, I went back to the mall just to see. They’d upgraded and gotten new vending machines. Filled with protein bars and baked chips instead. Some sort of new health initiative, I’m sure.”

JJ laughed bitterly and shook her head. “Not like it was connected to her death, but it was just another thing gone, you know? And it wasn’t a big thing, but…it’s the little things that you miss. The things that were just ours.”

JJ blinked a few times, not even realizing her eyes had teared up. “I know Cheetos don’t taste good,” JJ chuckled. “I think I’ve conditioned myself into believing they do because they were always associated with those good times.”

“Oh, Jayje,” Emily pulled her into a hug.

JJ relaxed herself in Emily’s arms. “It’s good,” she said in a low voice. “It’s good to be able to talk about it, I think.”

“It is,” Emily nodded, letting her head rest on JJ’s, enjoying the faint scent of vanilla shampoo. It was the quiet moments they had alone that she loved most, when she and JJ could just sit and chat and be with each other. Those moments were few and far between, save when Henry and Michael were at a friend’s and the BAU had a rare lull in active cases.

JJ sighed after a moment and untangled herself from Emily’s embrace. “But talking about Cheetos is making me crave them more, and we’re not gonna have a proper dinner if you don’t buy groceries. So add another 40-pack to the list, please.”

This last sentence was punctuated with a smile and a gentle kiss. Emily shook her head and gathered the strength to get up from the couch, arms desperately wanting to hold JJ longer. With great effort and another kiss from JJ, she rose and crossed to the front door.

Emily turned for one last look. “I’m gonna get you a 64-pack.”

JJ beamed. “I love you.”


End file.
